Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle Reading App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

But what's a villain to do after he's done . . . everything. With no new ambitions, he's happy to pitch in and solve the energy crisis or repel alien invaders should the need arise, but if he had his way, he'd prefer to be left alone to explore the boundaries of dangerous science. Just as a hobby, of course.

Retirement isn't easy though. If the boredom doesn't get him, there's always the Venusians. Or the Saturnites. Or the Mercurials. Or . . . well, you get the idea. If that wasn't bad enough, there's also the assassins of a legendary death cult and an up-and-coming megalomaniac (as brilliant as he is bodiless) who have marked Emperor for their own nefarious purposes. But Mollusk isn't about to let the Earth slip out of his own tentacles and into the less capable clutches of another. So it's time to dust off the old death ray and come out of retirement. Except this time, he's not out to rule the world. He's out to save it from the peril of THE SINISTER BRAIN!

Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration with Whispersync for Voice. Add narration for a reduced price of $3.99 when you buy the Kindle book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Abundant, zany humor."―Publishers Weekly on Monster

"Divine Misfortune reads like a mash-up of Neil Gaiman, Monty Python, and a sugar-bombed nine-year old."―Locus

About the Author

A. Lee Martinez was born in El Paso, Texas. At the age of eighteen, for no apparent reason, he started writing novels. Thirteen short years (and a little over a dozen manuscripts) later, his first novel, Gil's All Fright Diner was published. Since then he has published or is about to publish five additional novels, including the forthcoming Divine Misfortune. His hobbies include juggling, games of all sorts, and astral projecting. Also, he likes to sing along with the radio when he's in the car by himself.

More About the Author

A. Lee Martinez was born in El Paso, Texas. At the age of eighteen, for no apparent reason, he started writing novels. Thirteen short years (and a little over a dozen manuscripts) later, his first novel, Gil's All Fright Diner was published. Since then he has published or is about to publish five additional novels, including the forthcoming Divine Misfortune. His hobbies include juggling, games of all sorts, and astral projecting. Also, he likes to sing along with the radio when he's in the car by himself.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

These days most fantasy is one more dreary, endless (seriously, some of these books weigh 5 pounds) sword and sorcery novel or a seemingly endless series of vampire, werewolf, or demon novels, all pretty much the same.

A. Lee Martinez fits no category.His fantasy is wildly innovative, with no two of his books even remotely like any other.While most other fantasy books have interchangeable heroes with a sword, Martinez's heroes are a wild mix of a mercenary who can't seem to stay dead, a seven foot tall robot private gumshoe, a witch with a family but no name , a pair of vampire and a werewolf good ol' boys traveling the Southwest, some people looking for a little help from less than what you'd expect gods, a woman who rents an apartment in a world that doesn't seem to make much sense, an exterminator who doesn't do the normal rodents and bugs and has a demon girlfriend, and a kobold housekeeper with a lot of common sense.

Martinez is simply in a category all his own and is the most innovative fantasy writer of the time. One thing is guaranteed, he always surprises you and never bores you, and you'll never meet the same character or the same story twice in his books.To top it off, you get a good dash of humor missing from most fantasy work.Mixed in with strange stories and the humor, you get asked some serious questions about friendship, family, and humanity.This wild mix is something you don't exactly expect from an author from El Paso.

In this outing, we meet a retired Mollusk Super Villain who's conquered Earth but is now retired from the grind of defending his realm from various greedy invaders and saving Earth from catastrophic events, 74% of which he's caused.Read more ›

After reading several other of Martinez's work, I have become a fan. I am sorry to say this book did not live up to my expectations. Another reviewer said this was something like a video game with nine or so set pieces implying the book was formulaic. That reviewer was willing to overlook this flaw because they thought the pieces were cerebral and funny. After the first episode, I thought they became predictable and tedious, something I have never thought while reading other works by Martinez. Part of the problem was I never feared for the protangonist's life nor for those of his trusty sidekicks. You know he is going to win no matter how dire the situation. The beginning, middle, and end of each encounter became predictable and no amount of scientific double talks rom the Emperor or his deadly foes could make them suspenseful. Some of the episodes ended so abruptly(with the Emperor winning, of course) that I actually thought I had missed reading some pages. Having said all of that, if you are looking for some light reading, where you want to suspend all connections to reality, this book fits that purpose; just be sure to read some of the author's earlier works to appreciate what a magical writer he is.

The chapter where the, uh, protagonist and his, um, companion visit the Lunar assassin is one of my all-time favorite book chapters of any genre. The various actual and potential antagonists, a list which includes the protagonist (not giving anything away as you'll read in the first chapter), provide excellent variety and keep things moving along at a cleverly brisk pace so you don't feel bogged down.

Reminds me a bit of Douglas Adams. A really excellent and clever read.

Big fan of Martinez here. But I gotta say, this is clearly not his best work. Mollusk and his cohorts are very likeable characters and I'd love to see Mollusk in another story, but the plot in this story is jumpy, disjointed, and the Big Plot Explanation (a Martinez standard) at the end is overly complicated and confusing (if not downright incoherent). Hate to say it, but there it is. STILL, if you're a fan of Martinez' work, you have to read it. The repartee between Mollusk and Zala is, by itself, worth the price of admission, and one can only wonder what their baby would look like. E[...]

Emperor Mollusk is an egotistical, megalomaniacal, manipulative criminal that does not back down from a challenge, and will not walk away from any threat. Not from a science menace, not from a distant planet terror, and not from some unknown mystic scourge. It's these flaws that cause him to make every mistake he has made, yet it's these cracks in his armor that makes him so lovable. It seems he saves worlds as often as he endangers them. Did I mention that Emperor Mollusk is an undersized squid like creature from the planet Neptune that transports itself inside exoskeletons?Along with a female reptilian warrior from Venus named Zala, and an adorable pet ultrapede with powerful mandibles called Snarg, Emperor Mollusk commences on a comical action packed adventure that takes the trio from planet, to planet, to the likes of Dinosaur Island. Perils are many including a showdown with the Emperors nemesis The Sinister Brain. A foe who might very well be one too many steps ahead to finally conquer Emperor Mollusk for the final time.A. Lee Martinez has achieved the status of Douglas Adams, and Christopher Moore with his latest accomplishment. Armed with quick witted humor and non stop imagination, as well as combining Science Fiction, Horror, and Comedy all into one, Martinez has become the finest story teller this side of Uranus.